


Iuventuti Nil Arduum (One wrong makes a right?)

by LuxRoyalty (slytherinsdaughter)



Series: Kinkmeme fics [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Confessions, Cor being reckless, Gen, Making Friends, Pre-Canon, but in a sneaky way, but not in that way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 08:37:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14257095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherinsdaughter/pseuds/LuxRoyalty
Summary: Cor Leonis was just the scrawny sixteen year old in the crownsguard training class Clarus was teaching. Until the teen hurt his arm.Until Clarus found out the kid couldn't be crownsguard because he wasn't the minimum age of sixteen.Cor wasn't a scrawny sixteen year old - he was a very tall thirteen year old.For the Kinkmeme





	Iuventuti Nil Arduum (One wrong makes a right?)

**Author's Note:**

> iuventuti nil arduum actually means 'to the young nothing is difficult' I like using latin as titles, it's more fun than expected.
> 
> I'm not sure if I like this being 'canon' but it was fun writing it.
> 
> Prompt here: (and I just wrote prompto)  
> https://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/3892.html?thread=5559604#cmt5559604

Arms weren’t meant to make that noise.

It had come from Leonis, who always _seemingly_ tried at hand-to-hand but never… succeeded. He was very good at his fake-trying, there was a bet on when he would kicked out for slacking. Or just not being good enough. Clarus didn’t agree with the opinion that the teen never tried, but he just wasn’t that good at a lot of the things the crownsguard needed to do. It wasn’t a surprise that he had ended up on his ass in another lesson.

Either way, he never wanted the teen to get hurt in his lesson. Clarus padded over to Leonis, who was clutching his arm, white-faced but not making a sound.

“Let me see.” Clarus commanded.

Leonis offered his arm. It was already puffed up and swollen. Clarus couldn’t anything right now, the arm wasn’t that bad, but the cadet couldn’t continue on.

Clarus made a decision, “sit out, put ice on it, and I’ll look at it later.”

The cadet nodded silently and went to a nearby bench. He gingerly touched his wrist and winced, getting out some ice from the medkit these classes always kept handy. Clarus watched him wrap his wrist with some skill - it wasn’t the first time the boy’s lack of skills caused him an injury.

It was a mystery how he was still there sometimes. Leonis made by on sword skill, really. Sometimes the only thing Leonis had going for him was that he was a terrifyingly good sword fighter. He was a talented kid, but lagged behind all the other 16-20 year olds in most areas. The strength based hand-to-hand Clarus was teaching was useless to the teen who was all speed and no strength.

With all the exercise how did the sixteen year old remain so weak, unlike the others? Couldn’t he put on muscle like the rest?

\------

After the class the boy’s wrist hadn’t gotten any better. In fact it looked a lot worse. Clarus made the executive decision to take the kid to hospital, which Leonis argued.

“You don’t need to, sir.” The teen’s eyes flashed when Clarus snorted at that.

“You were injured in my class, yes I do.”

“I can take myself, sir.”

“Let me be responsible, Leonis. Shush.”

The kid’s eyes flared with defiance but he didn’t say another word. Looking at him like this it was hard to think of the teen as, well, a teen. He looked young, baby-faced, high voice. Clarus had heard the jokes that Leonis hadn’t hit puberty yet, and honestly, if he wasn’t so tall, the sixteen year old could have passed for a lot younger.

It was so easy to think of Leonis as a kid, rather than someone training to fight for Lucis.

Leonis was made to follow Clarus and they both got into Clarus’ car, Leonis in the passenger's’ seat.

“Do you like training for the Crownsguard?” Clarus asked. He was honestly curious.

The teen glanced at him. “Yes.” There was a pause. “Some things better than others.”

Clarus laughed, “I can tell,” he said, waving a hand towards Leonis’ swollen arm.

The hospital wasn’t very far. While Clarus could have gone as soon as the teen had been dropped off he’d elected to stay, seeing that it technically his fault for not supervising properly. However much he didn’t want to be teaching a whole class he should have done it better.

Sitting in the uncomfortable seats in the waiting area, Leonis looked at him. Clarus raised an eyebrow.

“Why were you teaching us - is the other instructor ill?”

The kid was fearless. “No, it was the punishment my mother picked.” Clarus admitted.

“King Mors’ Shield?”

“Yeah, she knows I don’t like teaching the basics so she made me teach them.”

Leonis smiled a little at that, “your mother is your boss. You must never get away with anything.”

Clarus laughed, at the kid’s cheek and the fact it was true.

“Cor Leonis.” A doctor called out and the teen went with a nod to Clarus. The same doctor then went and ushered Clarus into nearby office. “The results will come here, and so will the patient.” He placed Leonis’ medical record onto the desk and walked off, out of the room. The space was a perk of being part of the Crownsguard - sometimes even the injuries you got were classified.

Clarus knew that he could technically look at the record if he wanted to, but really? He needed to have asked for it, at least. He made a mental note to make a complaint - medical records were classified for a reason. He drummed his finger on his desk as he waited.

He heard the murmur of quiet voice just outside the door.

“Your bones are strong for someone your age, Cor.”

Clarus frowned. That was an odd comment to make.

“I’m surprised you’re a part of the crownsguard - if that’s the word when you’re just a trainee. You’ve got to be sixteen to join, right?”

Clarus could feel something - an idea? A thought? - dawning on him.

“I’m sixteen.” Cor protested, grumpily.

There was a pause.

“I’ve got your birth record. You’re not. And that’s something you’re going to tell your boss today.”

Something heavy sat on Clarus’ stomach. _What?_

There was a quiet swear before the door opened wide and the two stepped into the room.

“Sir.” The doctor greeted. “Good news, it’s just a sprain. A bad one. But, there seems to be information about Cor, here, that you don’t know.”

Clarus gave the doctor a long look. “I overheard,” He turned and looked at Cor. “You’re not sixteen.”

Cor grimaced at him and nodded.

“How old are you Leonis.” It wasn’t a question, not with that tone. It was a command.

Cor didn’t answer him.

“ _Leonis_.”

Cor glanced around the room before sighing. “I’m thirteen.”

Clarus swore. “How the fuck did we miss that? How did that get through all the checks?” Leonis was _thirteen_. He was technically a _preteen_. There was a preteen in the crownsguard and he had defeated a lot of people with his sword skills.

Leonis didn’t answer Clarus’ questions.

“Alright, that’s… something. Is he healthy other than the sprain?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take copies of the identity records.”

Cor said nothing when Clarus collected the proof that he was too young for crownsguard but Clarus felt those eyes burning a hole into him. Of all the things to do the _kid_ joined the crownsguard. Shit.

This was a mess.

While a large part of him just wanted to walk into the Marshal’s office and tell him, all his diplomacy training was telling him this was a bad idea. From the look on Cor’s face that idea might also get him stabbed, too.

… A coffee shop might be good enough - people had adult conversations like ‘why did you sign up to fight in a war at thirteen’ in coffee shops, right?

Right.

\--------

The awkward stuttering conversation explained so many things, like ‘why didn’t join _later_ ’ (his family needed the money and he could help), ‘how did you pass all the background checks’ (luck and the fact he looked older) and ‘do you really want to be crownsguard?’ (yes. He loved being crownsguard even though he wasn’t great at it yet).

“You’re going to need to tell the marshal.” Clarus said quietly.

Cor nodded, staring down at his hot chocolate. The kid was skilled, there was not denying that - Clarus had met many, many people with less sword skills than Cor.

Fuck it. _Fuck it._

“I can put you down as learning under me,” Clarus offered, “You would be crownsguard but it’ll be different, the training will be longer. Depending on how well you do you may still be a proper crownsguard member before sixteen - but you won’t have the disadvantage of being _thirteen_.”

“Me?” Cor raised an eyebrow.

“You’re good with swords. Better than most. With practise and strength gained from puberty you could be one of the best.”

It wasn’t really a choice - who knew what the marshal would do otherwise. It was very possible Cor would be kicked out straight away if he didn’t have this under his belt when Cor confessed to his ‘fraud’.

Cor nodded. “Yes, I’ll do it.” The fire in his eyes told Clarus that this was going to be a stressful time, starting with the conversation he needed to have with the marshal.

“Right,” Clarus groaned, “Let’s have the most awkward conversation you will ever have, second to the talk.” There was a strained silence where he looked at Cor.

“I’ve had the talk.” The brat said, amused.

“Oh thank fuck.”

\--------

Everyone looked at them when they marched into the crownsguard offices. Clarus heard one of them whisper that the slacker was finally getting kicked out. The marshal wasn’t busy when they knocked, and she looked up at them when they entered.

“Your arm broken?” She asked Cor, obviously hearing the story from somewhere.

“No sir.”

“What seems to be the problem, then?” She looked at Clarus. He took a step forward and handed her Cor’s records without explaining anything. She raised an eyebrow and looked through them silently.

Finally, she spoke. “I don’t know whether to praise your commitment or not, Leonis. I‘m guessing the hospital told you, Amicitia?”

“Yes sir.”

“Well? You have a idea, I see it in your eyes. Tell me.”

“I want to put Leonis under me in training.”

She hummed then nodded, “Yes, that seems like the best solution. What? Were you thinking I was going to argue? No, Leonis has very good sword skills, and I wasn’t going to kick him out over this. This will just make things easier. You know what paperwork to do, Amicitia, go and do it.”

With that ringing ‘conviction’ in their ears the boys were then dismissed. The guards outside didn’t seem to understand where Cor’s slight smile was coming from.

“Well that went better than I expected.” Clarus admitted. “I’ve still got to tell your parents this, thought, kid. Why didn’t your school contact them that you weren’t there, anyway?”

“I’m in one of those -” he paused, “Free ranged schools. As long as I do the work I’m fine. It’s just my sister anyway.”

There was the sinking feeling the lack of parental supervision in Cor’s life made _him_ the parental supervision. Or it would as soon as he signed the papers. There was the mental image of him offering Cor to his mother yelling that he _did_ in fact always wear a condom.

It took just a glance at Cor to reassure him he hadn’t made a mistake. The kid was going to go places, with or without him.

He was going to need a couple of friends, anyway.

Reggie was going to _love_ him.


End file.
